Free bag pattern – Turning Japanese Bag

Never sewn a bag before or just looking for a quick and easy project? The use of metal handles in this bag means there is no need for fiddly zippers or closures, but the bag still looks super cute and just like something you could have bought in a nice store.

Feedback to the site, comments on Facebook and emails I've received show that you all love to sew bags! You asked for more quick and simple projects, more bags, more for new and beginner sewists and more projects that can be made with small pieces of fabric, or short periods of time. I think this bag fulfills all of those.

My First Bag Series – In fact, I've decided that over the next 12 months I'll try to bring out several new bags that could all be sewn by beginners and would be perfect if you've never sewn a bag before. They'll all be simple to sew, have simple patterns and each will come with instructions even a beginner can follow – it's the ‘My First Bag Series'.

Sew the Turning Japanese Free Bag Pattern

Finished bag approx 11 inches tall by 10.5 inches wide

Firstly, download and print the pattern and read through the written instructions. You will need the following materials

You can download the pattern and instructions for the Turning Japanese Bag from my design account at Craftsy. It's a PDF file containing both instructions and pattern all in the same file. Enjoy! Trouble downloading the pattern? Check out this article - How to Download and Print PDF Sewing Patterns.

You can do it ! You can sew a bag to be proud of and that others won't believe you made yourself. Give it a try. I'm always here to answer your questions if you read through the instructions and watch the video and are still stuck.

And watch out in the future for simple variations you can add to this bag too. Once you have the pattern and know how to sew it, making your own changes to the pattern isn't too difficult. I'll show in a future tutorial how to add some piping and make it in two different fabrics. Even how to add a shoulder chain and some bag feet too so you can really Wow your friends!

Download the Turning Japanese Bag Pattern

You can download the pattern and instructions for the Turning Japanese Bag from my design account at Craftsy. It's a PDF file containing both instructions and pattern all in the same file. Enjoy! Trouble downloading the pattern? Check out this article - How to Download and Print PDF Sewing Patterns.

If you love to sew, or are learning to sew, and love free patterns, then you'll love being on the mailing list at So Sew Easy. Join me and never miss another fab free pattern or tutorial! No spam promise.

Hi Ruth, thanks for letting me know. No idea what happened but that video was suddenly made “private” so no one could see it. I’ve now fixed. Sometimes these sorts of strange things happen on Youtube, unfortunately. Kind regards and happy sewing!

Hi Emilia, there are two yellow boxes, one towards the top of the post and one towards the bottom. Inside the yellow boxes are buttons saying “Pattern download”. Please click there. Let me know if you’re still having issues. Kind regards and happy sewing!

Hi Emilia, how strange. That is indeed the correct link. Both yellow box buttons point to the same page on Craftsy. You do need to sign up to Craftsy to download the pattern. Perhaps that’s the issue? With Craftsy, you can store access to this and any other patterns you want to use as well as classes. Let me know how you go.

Marya, I downloaded the pattern and there is a discrepancy. There are two parts to this pattern: top and bottom. The top seems correct, but I cannot be sure, since there are no measurements to compare. When I tried to put the two together—bottom and top—the bottom was wider. Both have writings and I was able to compare them; the writing on the bottom part is larger. There is nothing about the size of the handles, co I couldn’t be sure if the top part of the pattern is really correct. The opening in the drawing I printed is 2 3/8” (outside, doted line); does this sound correct?

The bottom measurement of the top pattern is 7 ½” wide. Yet the upper part of the bottom pattern (that attaches to the bottom of the top pattern) is almost 10”. So, they do not match. I wonder if the fact that the top pattern was saved as Portrait and the bottom as Landscape altered the size? Can you help me? If you need I can forward the PDF I downloaded. Thank you and so sorry for all the trouble.

OK, you’ll probably block me from posting here again… I just tried to print in a different printer and it worked… I think my printer was adjusted for something else and I didn’t realize. It seems the center “cut” of the bag is 13″ and the bottom 7″ at the widest and 5 1/2″ at the narrower. I am SO sorry for taking your time. Take care.

The pattern is within the PDF file you downloaded. Instructions are first and then the pattern pieces are at the end. Please scroll right to the end to look for it. Let me know if you aren’t sure what to do.

Click in the big orange box just above the video which says Pattern Download. Then add the free pattern to your account on Craftsy, no address/payment etc required. Then you can download the file from your pattern library to your computer at any time. You might find this article helpful too – so-sew-easy.com/download-print-pdf-sewing-patterns/
If you are still stuck, please send me details in an email of where you can’t follow or what error you are getting

I found your blog and love all the patterns! This is the first pattern of your I have tried and made this purse with an Elvis fabric but have yet to attach the handles. I have reviewed the YouTube video several times but I’m still confused on how to attach them. Where the screws go there should be no fabric covering the hole? It looks like it’s cut and pushed out of the way. Would like some clarification before I take that last step. Thanks!

Yes, I made a little snip where the screw holes are, and just pushed the fabric either side to give me room to screw without the fabric getting in the way. You could also cut a small notch, or if you have something suitable, just make a hole in the right place for the screw to go through the fabric and into the plate. It’s certainly tricky but be careful, snip a little at a time so you don’t cut too much and it’ll be a good finish in the end.

Wow! I love this bag! I waited until my handles finally came from Shanghai to try your Turning Japanese Bag. It was so easy to make and your instructions were great. I am going to make several more to wear with different outfits. Thanks for sharing your talent!

Because the bag has two sides, plus a bottom and dimension so you need to cut your pattern piece twice including seam allowances. If you only had a piece of fabric 11 x 10.5 then it would only make half the bag.

Hi Victoria – under the materials section in the blog post, the oval bag handles are a link through to the store where you can buy them. You can get them in gold or silver and the Etsy seller sends worldwide – shipping is very reasonable. Also in the pattern download, there is a link through to the store as well. Take a look at 3d Hardware – excellent range of bag hardware.

Thank you so much for the pattern and the video! You did a terrific job with the instructions. I too have seen many tutorials that do not give complete instructions, and it just leaves you stuck, with no way to know how to complete a particular section. The material you used really caught my attention, but the simplicity of your design is wonderful!

Thanks for this wonderful pattern,Deby. I have quite a few fabrics in the “bag stash” (as opposed to the clothes stash!! 🙂 ) that are calling out for a bag just like this to showcase them to their best. So glad I found this one.

I am a machine embroidery person, but want to make this bag with embroidery on the front. for my niece with frozen on. I have tried to buy the metal handles, but no one seams to supply them. can you use the plastic rings and how would I do this if so? Your Susanne Mcvay

Hi Susanne. If you click the links in the article or in the pattern download, it takes you to an online Etsy store where you can buy these exact handles in gold or silver – the seller sends them worldwide. You could try using a bias tape to bind the edges, but with a small tight inside curve like this, it is hard to get a nice smooth finish. Otherwise you could see what other large grommets you could find locally, you might be lucky. Or how about leave off the handles and add a shoulder strap instead?

In theory the bag could be completely reversible, however the handles are not so the wrong side would show. If you finished the handles edges with a bias tape, then Yes, I think you could use the bag either way. Neat idea.

The fabric is great isn’t it! I love that oriental scene and this plain bag was perfect to showcase that print. It’s only from JoAnn so it wasn’t expensive, but it has nice gold accents too. I’ve got so many compliments when I take this bag out, and so many people wanting to place orders. But I really am only interested in sewing for me – isn’t that terrible!

I’ve always wanted to make a bag, you have made it look so simple, but I didn’t see the size of the handles, I am guessing 3.5″, is this correct, they also look oval. Please let me know so I can order them.
Linda King

Yes, I used the 3.5 inch oval handles. Looks like they are presently sold out in the gold, but still in stock in the silver. I’m sure they’ll be back in stock soon if you can wait – looks like they suddenly had a bit of a rush because of the pattern. http://etsy.me/1rLlVL3

I’ve been following your blog for some months now and I just want to say thank you for all of the great free tutorials you’ve provided. I’m a beginner sewer and it gets frustrating sometimes to spend so much money on tutorials that don’t teach me what I need to know. It can get discouraging. However, I found your blog and can’t say enough how much I enjoy all of the informative tidbits you share. I’ll be following you for some time. Thank You!

I understand your frustration Michelle. I have a lot of feedback both ways. Some people want a pattern to be just a pattern, with directions for what to do in what order to complete the project and not too much other blah-blah chatter. Other people want the pattern to be a full tutorial also which includes details on how to sew as well. So for examples if I was offering a dress pattern with an invisible zipper, 50% of people would be happiest if I just said, ‘insert invisible zipper to center back’, and 50% would want the pattern to include full details on how to sew an invisible zipper. Its tough to make both sides happy! But in this case its designed to be a beginner pattern so I do include full instructions.

Deby, what an excellent job you did on this tutorial. I have been sewing for 55 years and I’ve done a little bit of everything during that time. I love to explore the web and review tutorials for any new tips or techniques, as the sewing world is always evolving and new materials and tools are constantly being created. One of my pet peeves is tutorials that are unclear or not basic enough for a beginner. I can see that you understand that not everyone knows what you know, Your instructions are clear and concise, without a lot of unnecessary chatter, Congratulations on a job well done, and also on being selected to sell your patterns on Indiesew. I do intend to make this bag this week and to follow along with your bag tutorials as the evolve. Thank you for the time and effort you have put forth to train the next generation of sewers. Also, in reference to your fear of quilting, you use the same sewing skills you use now. I found the major difference between garment sewing and quilting is the way we look at fabric.. Accurate cutting and stitching is necessary for all types of sewing. But in quilting, we combine fabrics in a much different way than we do in garments, If you ever decide to give it a try, you will do well.

Thanks so much for your words of encouragement on the quilting. And for the kind comments about the tutorial. I’m still new enough to sewing that I remember the complete confusion from when I was first starting out. I think many projects are achievable by people new to sewing, so long as there is sufficient explanation and small steps to accomplish along the way.

I’m super excited about this topic. I would love to make a couple of purses, but the patterns out there are just too scary. This is just what I need to get better at sewing and gain confidence in my purse making skills. I don’t know why I’m so scared of sewing patterns like this, I have no problem trying all kinds of difficult things when quilting, I don’t fear failure. CDahlgren at live dot com

Good gracious, we have something in common – but opposite. Quilting scares me! So much accuracy required, I’m not sure my sewing skills are good enough, or that I have the patience. If you can make a good quilt, I know you can do this! Do you have any examples of the sort of thing you’d like to tackle? I’m always willing to try to do requests where I can, make something that you are looking for, and a tutorial video if that would help. I’m always looking for inspiration, so send me some links to look at if you like.

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